Musings on the way to Babilonium
by Julianna du Papillon
Summary: Houlihan's thoughts on Candy while he follows her to Babilonium....CandyHoulihan, OneShot, first fanfic...


**Musings on the way to Babilonium**

**Well, this is my first fanfiction ever... I tried to imagine what feelings Houlihan may have towards Candy other than hate... I hope you'll enjoy this little one-shot!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Abarat or the characters... it's all Clive Barker's work, not mine...**

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After that enlightening conversation with Kud, Houlihan quickly conjured up a glyph and along with three skilled mires he followed the indeed very strongly and disgustingly smelling track the zetheks had laid out. Their journey low above the glittering waters of the Izabella was unusually peaceful and so he half reluctantly began to ponder over the very girl that he had been instructed to _apprehend at all costs_...

The first time he had heard her name he had assured himself that, despite the fact she had come from the Hereafter, she was a more or less average girl the Lord of Midnight only wanted because of his own dark reasons.

But now, after their little encounters at Ninnnyhammer and Huffaker , widely spread rumours and Kud's amusing description on top of it all, he had to admit that she wasn't even remotely normal.

Which ordinary human girl had this powerful magic inside her, magic that could indeed present a serious danger to the darkness' forces?

And what was more, none of his previous victims had been such a big challenge to him and had caused him as much trouble as her, he tought grimly, the urgent tone of his Lord's order

still ringing in his ears.

But those difficulties could not prevent him from hunting her yet they had even increased his feverish, almost desperate desire to finally get hold of her, tame her, take revenge for all the things she had done to him...

Nevertheless, deep inside his rotten soul he knew there was another reason why he couldn't let her escape, a reason he couldn't even bring himself to admit: He wanted to find out _why _he was so fascinated by this girl- her strong will, her courage, the way hope never seemed to fade out of her mismatched, mysterious eyes...

At this moment, the glyph rocked slightly and he felt as though he had just waken up from a very odd dream-

How could have ever been come the possibility into his mind that he was in some way interested in that girl? He loathed her with every part of his body and definetely had no feelings toward apart from his wish that he was allowed to tear her head off- it was even painful just to think about it.

Rubbish, he told himself firmly and tried to concentrate on the task that laid ahead of him and his crew. That she was having such an effect upon him infuriated him even more and he silently swore that he he would chase her around the whole Abarat without mercy just to get rid of those unwanted emotions-

Feelings he had never felt before, that irritated him and made him feel vulnerable, and especially Midnight's hunter couldn't afford to be weak in any way.

He clenched his theeth as he remembered how easy she and this damned geshrat had outsmarted him on the bridge when he had thought he had them for sure by jumping into the darkness.

-But that was over, he would never underestimate them and let them slip through his fingers again; and once she couldn't escape from him anymore, she would regret she had played all those little tricks on him...

He smiled his evil grin at the prospect of torturing her – not physically, of course, but he had his own methods of putting someone under pressure, threathening him with suffer and pain until the strongest men turned into mere bags of nerves, and he highly doubted that these methods would fail on her...

His smile even broaded as he vividly imagined those satisfying moments, but then he was again interrupted by the hoarse voice of the biggest stitchling who informed him that they were apparently approaching Babilonium.

Houlihan cursed her under his breath once again; now he had to find her in this city among all those delighted, excited people who hopelessly jammed up the streets in search of a new attraction they hadn't already enjoyed.

He despised them deeply, and so, his mood, if that was possible, even darkened...

After all, it was the perfect mood to hunt her despite the lacking lucidity of this bloody town... and with those sinister thoughts in his mind, he entered Babilonium in pursuit of Candy Quackenbush.


End file.
